Composition-controlled synthesis and tunable optical properties of ternary boron carbonitride nanotubes

Abstract

Controlling the composition and structure of boron carbonitride nanotubes (BCNNTs) is the critical factor for tuning their electrical and optical properties, which in turn allows for the broadening of their applications.However, most of the known methods for synthesizing BCNNTs employ toxic precursors at high temperatures (up to 2000 C) and the achieved BCNNTs usually encounter phase-separation of BN and C.Herein, a facile large-scale synthesis of ternary BCNNTs with controllable composition by a chemical vapor deposition process at a relatively low temperature of 900 C is reported. By simply adjusting the synthetic parameters, BCNNTs with two different atomic ratios of B : C : N can be successfully synthesized. Their morphologies and ternary structure as well as optical properties are further investigated. Notably, the asprepared BNCNTs-50 are stable up to 900 C in air and exhibit an optical band gap of $4.36 eV. The results demonstrated in this study will open new avenues for a variety of potential applications of BCNNTs in electronics, photonics, sensors and high temperature lubricants.

Synthesis, characterisation and applications of core–shell carbon–hexagonal boron nitride nanotubes

“…Some studies identify FTIR peaks ascribed to the graphitic carbon. 21,22,31 B-C or N-C bonds detected by FTIR in ternary boron carbonitride nanotubes, at 1171 cm À1 and 1279 cm À1 respectively, 68 have not been reported for CNT@BN nanotubes. Oxygen related impurities detected by FTIR are discussed in Section 2.2.3.1.…”

“…Reaction (3) is oen referenced as a means of substituting C with h-BN to form ternary B x C y N z hybrid nanotubes. [68][69][70] According to Chang et al, the outermost h-BN layers synthesized from the carbothermal process have fewer B-C or N-C bonds and are primarily h-BN. 27 This is because the rst few ternary B-N-C layers formed prevent further reaction of the underlying CNT, so any additional h-BN formation can only proceed following reaction (1).…”

Boron carbon nitride (BCN): an emerging two-dimensional nanomaterial for supercapacitors

“…Hydroxyl groups and defects generated utilizing an O 2 plasma improves the nucleation of BN on the CNT surface, which promotes the substitution reaction at a low temperature and promotes the generation of BCNNTs having higher B and N concentration. By understanding the features of BCNNTs, Li et al 37 synthesized BCNNTs at a large scale, having higher composition of B and N at a reduced temperature of 900 °C with acid-treated CNT as the starting material. The authors of this work synthesized two different types of BCNNTs using ammonia with varying atomic ratios of B, C, and N. After finishing the synthesis procedure, the residual carbon material was removed by heat-treatment at 630 °C for 1 h. The doping level of BN was controlled by changing the flow rate of ammonia and BCNNTs generated at 100 sccm ammonia gas (labelled as BCNNT-100) was utilized for further experiments.…”

(B, N)‐Rich B−C−N Nanosheet‐assembled Microwires as Effective Electrocatalysts for Oxygen Reduction Reaction

“…Theoretical calculations also have revealed that the electronic and optical properties of ternary BÀ CÀ N nanostructures can be tailored by changing its composition, which show great potential applications in optoelectronics device, supercapacitors, and catalyst. [8] Several methods have been reported for the synthesis one-dimensional (1D) BÀ CÀ N nanotubes (BÀ CÀ NNTs) and 2D BÀ CÀ N nanosheets (BÀ CÀ NNSs), [9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18] However, B doping and N doping have a very low efficiency by boric acid and N-containing compounds due to their poor reactivity. Thus, the BÀ CÀ N micro-nano structures with regular morphology prepared by these methods either suffer from low yield and/or low purity, which would greatly limit the application of BÀ CÀ N nanomaterials.…”

“…Thus, great efforts have been paid to the ternary B−C−N system, which B and N atoms in a carbon framework with different electronegativities breaks the electroneutrality of carbon and boosts the electrical conductivity and the discharge/charge capability. Theoretical calculations also have revealed that the electronic and optical properties of ternary B−C−N nanostructures can be tailored by changing its composition, which show great potential applications in optoelectronics device, supercapacitors, and catalyst [8] . Several methods have been reported for the synthesis one‐dimensional (1D) B−C−N nanotubes (B−C−NNTs) and 2D B−C−N nanosheets (B−C−NNSs), [9–18] However, B doping and N doping have a very low efficiency by boric acid and N‐containing compounds due to their poor reactivity.…”